Upcycling Tip: Creative furniture made of pallets

Sustainability is of prime importance in our green hotel in the center of Vienna. Upcycling has always been an interesting concept for us. Therefore, we want to talk about simple Upcycling Tips in our blog on a monthly basis. Upcycling refers to the repurposing of renewable objects. Objects from everyday life are turned into new objects with a new function. This is how production and subsequently the energy consumption can be dramatically reduced. Today we want to give an Upcycling Tip on how to create creative furniture out of pallets – for both the exterior and the interior.

Creative pallet furniture for the garden or for your flat

The best thing about pallets is that they are extremely flexible. They are easy to cut, easy to process and can be easily assembled – long story short: Pallets are a perfect example of a great way to do Upcycling. Any furniture can be built with pallets – from a comfortable bed, couch tables to a stylish seating area in your garden. Therefore, we will now explain step by step, how you can create your creative pallet furniture.

Step 1: Buy your pallets

A standard Euro-Pallet is 120cm x 80 cm in size. Therefore, you should think of how many pallets you need to buy before your purchase. Euro-Pallets can be bought at various logistic companies. The price can differ depending on how used the pallets are. You can expect to pay between 11 to 13 Euros if you want to buy pallets in mint condition.

Step 2: Cut your pallets

Think of the measures you need for your pallets and assemble the pallets as if they were already cut. Highlight the areas which you want to cut. We highly recommend to use Alligator Saws, as pallets are extremely robust especially at the crossbars.

Step 3: Sand your pallets

Sanding your pallets can be very exhausting and time-consuming. But it is definitely worth the effort. We recommend using a belt sander with a rough sand paper first in order to get rid of all the stingy parts and to make the corners of your pallets smoother. It is of prime importance to sand the visible surface. If you want to paint your pallets, this step will be less exhausting, as if you want to leave the pallets in its natural color. Finally, you should sand those parts which are not covered by mattresses or pillows with a fine sandpaper.

Step 4: Paint your pallets

We are big fans of white pallet furniture. Not only because they look really cool, but also because they are pretty easy to process. We recommend using normal white wall paint and to paint your pallets at least 3 times. You will see that the surface of your pallets will get much smoother.

Step 5: Assemble your Pallets and add accessories

Last but not least, you should assemble your pallets. Due to the weight of your pallets you do not necessarily need to connect all the pallets physically (e.g. with screws). This can be a great advantage if you want to make your pallet furniture moveable and easily transportable. Still, feel free to screw your pallets together if you feel like leaving your pallet furniture on a fixed spot. Screw your pallets together at the respective crossbars and make sure that you use robust screws. Accessories, such as pillows, slatted frames or mattresses can be added afterwards.

Upcycling in the Boutiquehotel Stadthalle

Upcycling hss always played an important role in our central hotel in Vienna. At the beginning of 2014 we collaborated with the University of Applied Arts Vienna and furnished 7 rooms in the upcycling style. Wood logs were converted into couch tables, books into bed stands, cutlery into coat hooks, et cetera. A lot of effort was put into these rooms and that is the reason why we are very proud that many of our guest really enjoy staying in our Upcycling rooms. If you also feel like staying in one of our eco-friendly rooms feel free to send us a non-binding inquiry.

The Boutiquehotel Stadthalle in Vienna wishes you a lot of creativity for the creation of your Upcycling furniture! We would be very happy to welcome you in our central hotel in Vienna soon!